


Survivable

by Valaxiom



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Illusions, Loki has a bad day, Missing Scene, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Spoilers for the first 10 minutes of infinity war, infinity war fix-it, sorta?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 06:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14539083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valaxiom/pseuds/Valaxiom
Summary: "Loki mentally prepared himself to do something so desperately stupid that it would make Thor look like the smart sibling."In the chaos of The Mad Titan's arrival, Loki does what Loki does best: scheme and make any situation, even an irredeemably poor one, work to his advantage.When you've already faked your death twice, the third time is child's play.(Takes place immediately after Thor: Ragnorok and during the first few minutes of Avengers: Infinity War. Some spoilers, but also speculation)





	Survivable

**Author's Note:**

> So I just saw Infinity War and, uh, wow. Yikes. This fic does contain some spoilers, but only for the first ten minutes or so.
> 
> I wrote this fic because no one else seems to have, at least not yet, and I got so frustrated while searching for something like this that it drove me to write it myself.

This was not an ideal situation.

Loki stood awkwardly to the side as Thanos’s minions performed their grisly duties. The air inside the ship was rank with blood and smoke, and despair. The brief spark of hope after the battle with Hela had been extinguished when the flagship of the Mad Titan had appeared. There hadn’t been time for anything- Heimdall had held open the Bifrost for as long as he could, getting civilians _away,_ not even having time to choose a specific realm to send them to. Hopefully they could find each other after the chaos was over. At least, if the chaos ended.

The battle had been brief and horrible. Most of Asgard’s finest warriors were slain or sorely wounded, and everyone who wasn’t able to make it through the portal had to fight for their lives.

Cursing his fate and the Norns, Loki had defended Heimdall until the moment Thanos entered the room. He had then moved to a different section of the ship, trying to evade the Titan’s retribution for his previous failures.

Loki admitted to himself, in his mind, that perhaps his greatest failure was allowing this creature any hold over himself. That chaos in New York, the mess with the dark elves, even this recent situation with Odin’s mad firstborn- he had had a hand in all of it. To his own intense irritation, this knowledge brought shame.

A feeling which quickly turned to visceral terror when he felt Black Dwarf’s solid grip upon his shoulder.

“Lord Thanos, look what has been skulking in the shadows!”

The Titan turned slowly from where he had just finished beating the God of Thunder. Loki’s stomach churned at the sight of his brother’s prone form beneath a pile of rubble. There was light reflecting off a puddle of dark blood, and no defiant blue lightning flickering. The rest of the room had gone quiet with the exception of Ebony Maw’s obnoxious monologue. Everyone was dead or captured- at least, everyone but-

His thoughts were interrupted when Thanos spoke.

“Ah yes. Our… former agent. Tell me, Loki of Asgard, where do your loyalties lie this time?”

Loki smiled, though it felt more like a grimace. “My Lord Thanos, they lie with the victor, as always. Allow me to redeem myself and you shall not be disappointed.”

The Titan’s face was impassive. He turned to Thor and began reciting some philosophical nonsense which Loki tuned out. A plan- he needed a plan. Something to help himself and his idiot brother survive this to fight another day.

Now, what were his tools? There was Dr. Banner, presumably nearby. That alcoholic Valkyrie had been on the bridge as well, but her form was not among the dead, and it was laughable to picture her evacuating or going quietly with the fifty percent allowed to live. Heimdall was… not dead, but not looking well. He still had his sword to open the way, but it had been knocked out of his grip.

And of course, he had his various contingency plans. Prior to Thanos’s arrival, a quiet phone call with the Earth magician Strange had confirmed some theories Loki had had about the nature of the Infinity Gauntlet. The errant Lady Sif would be a potentially powerful pawn as well.

With all these pieces in play, Loki mentally prepared himself to do something so desperately stupid that it would make Thor look like the smart sibling.

“The Tesseract, or your brother’s head. I assume you have a preference?”

Loki looked at Thor. “Oh, I do. Kill away.”

Even with all the years of backstabbing (both literal and figurative) it was hard to hear his brother’s anguished screams. He had to let this happen. Had to make his indecision seem real. But oh, it was hard to hear yet again. When he finally saw that Thor was on the verge of passing out, Loki shouted, “All right, stop!”

The hurt in Thor’s remaining eye when Loki procured the Tesseract felt worse than getting stabbed by one of Hela’s minions.

“You really are the worst, brother.”

Loki was relieved by the use of the word brother- it took some of the sting out of Thor’s disappointment. It also meant that his impulsive older brother might actually be paying attention for once.

“I assure you, brother. The sun will shine on us again.”

The Hulk-induced chaos that took place afterwards proved to be just enough of a distraction for Loki to put the final touches on his ploy. As he’d expected, the Valkyrie was lurking nearby, and it was an easy task to telepathically convey his plan. Her response was a mental stream of obscenities that were truly unique, but Loki was reasonably sure that she’d cooperate.

Heimdall’s death was hard to witness, but at least the Hulk had been reserved for a future battle- it would also be useful to have Banner back on Earth to provide some measure of common sense to the Avengers’ schemes (for all that Loki feared the Hulk, he respected Dr. Banner in equal measure).

And now here came the hard part, the riskiest part of his plan. The only comfort was that if he managed to botch this, at least he wouldn’t have to be around to witness the end of the world.

“Oh, mighty Thanos, I, Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, the Rightful King of Jötunheim, God of Mischief, do hereby pledge to you my undying fidelity."

Loki almost smirked when he saw Thor’s eyes narrow at the use of the surname Odinson. So, his brother was as capable of learning as he’d claimed to be. Impressive. In the midst of his flattery, he conjured a knife, ensuring that Thor could see it. When he clumsily attempted to end the Mad Titan, Loki found himself held up by the neck, feet dangling ungracefully in the air. The fist around his neck got tighter, tighter, tighter-

Until he felt a snap, and everything went dark.

***

Loki woke up to the feeling of someone prodding his (bruised, possibly broken) ribs with a leather boot. He groaned and the boot stopped.

“Oi, Lackey. Get up, we need to go and I can’t carry your stupid unconscious ass all the way to the escape pod.”

He opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn’t.

“Oh… fuck.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. Can you stand?”

He and the Valkyrie were in what felt like a closet, but an unpleasant feeling in his gut indicated that this was nothing so benign. He started coughing, only to panic slightly when he realized that the air was too thin.

The Valkyrie rolled her eyes and dragged him upright, pulling one arm over her shoulder distastefully. “Wow, do you ever look like shit,” she said.

“Feel like it too,” he replied tersely. He could feel blood all down his front, and even with his healing factor, his neck hurt badly. Breathing was painful, talking was worse. The last-second illusion he’d cast to make it seem as though Thanos’ grip had snapped his neck and genuinely killed him had used up most of his magic- he was lucky it had lasted long enough for the Valkyrie to drag him away. There had still been a significant amount of damage done, but it was survivable, provided he found a medic sooner rather than later.

“C’mon, the escape pods are this way.”

The ship had been torn apart- some sections, like the one they were in currently, still had air, but the lights were dim and there was no other indication of survivors. By the time they reached the pod bay, black spots had started to dance across Loki’s vision and the Valkyrie was supporting most of his weight. She tossed him into the passenger seat carelessly, sealed the escape pod, and buckled in at the pilot’s station. Loki was unconscious by the time she had begun to carefully maneuver the tiny craft through the floating debris.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I refuse to believe that Loki would die that easily. Some of the things he said during that scene were also mildly suspicious, and I would be willing to bet that he'll show up again in a Big Damn Heroes moment in part 2. Thor's reaction seemed a bit muted as well, although what with his brother habitually faking his own death multiple times, I imagine that the novelty has worn off. 
> 
> Also, where the hell was Valkyrie? I missed her, she's easily one of my favourite Marvel characters.


End file.
